ThriceBlessed
by Fullelven
Summary: Reno, on mission in Nibelhiem meets up with a strange black-cloaked figure. Will he get his mark and finish his mission or will it just open a door to a whole new world for him and the Turks?
1. Greetings and Salutations

**Title****: Thrice-Blessed  
Author****: RenoxRayne  
Chapter­****: 1, Greetings and Salutations  
Summary****: Pretty much the backstory of my own little personal muse and Reno, the object of my fangirl obsession. . Its cross-fandom with Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy... but, ya know... Kindgom Hearts is pretty much a crossover with Final Fantasy anyway.  
Disclaimer****: I own nothing but the main character, Rain. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)**

Rayne new how it must have looked to the townspeople of Nibelhiem as she walked the streets at night, appearance hidden by the black hooded cape. She knew well the stories of the man who'd come before, destroyed their town and nearly destroyed the planet on numerous occassions... Sephiroth.

His very name struck fear in the hearts of all on the Planet, good, evil and otherwise. And dressed as she was, she knew exactly how she looked to them all. Like the Sephiroth clones that had come before.

Rayne wouldn't have it any other way.

There was no room in this world of theirs for an experiment like her, at least Sephiroth, Genesis, and the others could fit in easily. At least they were created with purpose, research behind their creations. Rayne, however...

"Ya know, walkin' around town, dressed like that... you're startin' to turn heads."

The voice took her off guard and instantly she summoned her two Chakrams, half-twisting, half-flipping to get away and face the one who addressed her. Her glowing green eyes traveled his tall, lanky figure, the boyish expression on his face, the markings beneath his eyes. Even in the night she could see the blue suit he wore. _A Turk..._

"Hojo can't have me back... you'll have to take him my corpse," she threatened, her accent like nothing he'd heard before. Before he could reply, she tossed her Chakrams, their jagged edges threatening to cut him in two. He may not have had time for a retort, but like instinct his electro-mag stick deflected one, and with a wave of his other hand his Barrier Materia reflected the other.

"Haven't ya heard? Hojo's been dead for years," he began though he didn't advance any closer. Her Chakrams returned quickly to her palms as she prepared to toss them again if she needed to. "Gone with the rest of Shin-Ra."

"You are a Turk... I am no fool to that."

He smirked.

"The Turks are under new contract, yo. Where have you been?"

The man moved closer, but her eyes seemed to be in another world entirely. His eyes, his voice... his very mannerisms. She looked down to her weapons and back up at him. "Axel?" A puzzled look came over his face before he smiled and shook his head.

"Reno."

A brisk wind blew, but she didn't even flinch. Neither did he, but his reasons differing from hers. They stood in silence for a few long moments, Reno fidgetting. He was one for action, act first, talk later. Just why exactly was he even talking to her anyway? "Axel your boyfriend?"

"Shut up."

She turned her back, beginning the head back towards the mansion. Over the years, it had gathered many beings, experements especially. Rayne had been no different... though her experiences... those were another story. The Chakrams in her hands disolved into a bright glowing green mist that seemed to rise into the sky.

_What the hell?_

--

"So, girl. You never gave your name before."

It was the voice from the night before, the man. _Reno. _She hadn't expected to see him again, nor that any part of their conversation would have stuck with him. "Don't you have work to be doing? You are a Turk and all."

"Hey... I asked first."

He lofted a cocky brow, and settled back on the well in the town square of Nibelhiem. He didn't look at her, but followed her gaze past it to the mansion. She glanced down at him, and felt a tugging at the corner of her lips but quelled it quickly. Sighing in submission, she returned her gaze to the mansion.

"My name is Rayne..."

"Just Rayne?"

It was her turn to flash him a quirked brow. "Just Reno?"

"Touché," he glanced up at her, noticing the hood and the glow of her eyes once more. He knew where that glow had come from. He'd seen it many times in his life, always attributed to the same thing... Mako cells. "So... why the get-up? Can't imagine many people talk to you wearing that."

_Thank you for stating the obvious, Reno._

"Maybe I don't want to be talked to."

She knew his retort before it even left his lips.

"Why?"

The heavy sigh that left her lips caused another smirk from the seasoned Turk and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you always ask so many questions? I thought you Turks were all action, no talking."

He paused, thinking about that. She, again, did have him there, and on a question that he didn't readily have an answer to. "I may be in uniform, but I'm not on duty." That slang of his was irritating, but brought around a sense of nostalgia as he used it. It reminded her so much of... _him._

"Then you're here on business."

"_Was_ here on business. I finished it yesterday."

Rayne nodded, and hopped off the tower brushing off her black robe. A lock of dark brown hair fell forward into her face, her closeness to Reno allowing him to spy the tone of her skin; a rich caramel color. "Why are you still here?"

"Before I answer that... lets make a deal. I answer a question, you have to answer one of mine. Deal?"

She didn't see any problem in that.

"Fine."

"Ooh, goodie. In answer to your question, I am still here because I found a point of intrest that I can't seem to take myself away from until I figure it out. I don't like being in the dark." He answered truthfully.

This seemed to satisfy the elusive girl, at least for the moment."Why _were_ you here then?"

"Ah-ah... one question at a time and I believe its my turn." Reno turned fully towards her, one hand in the pocket of his suit as he leaned on his opposite elbow against the old wooden well tower. "From what I've guessed, you live in the Shin-Ra mansion."

"So?"

"So... why? Aren't you afraid of the ghosties and whatever scary things the townsfolk picture there?"

Rayne cracked a smile, amused with the question. She didn't like her fate, but she'd accepted it. "I am the ghosties and scary things they picture there. They fear Hojo's madness, and as a creation of such... I do believe I have inherited that property, right?"

_Hojo can't have me back... you'll have to take him my corpse._

Suddenly, that line made more sense now than it had before... but how? He hadn't heard of any rogue experiments. The Turks hadn't been _sent_ after any... so why leave this one undocumented, unregistered... and completely out in the open?

"My turn for a question."

Her gentle voice broke his thoughts and he wondered by the tone in it if perhaps she was just happy to have someone to talk to. "Alright, shoot."

"You said the Turks were under new contract... what happened to Shin-Ra?"

Reno only smiled as he heard her question and looked past her towards the approximate direction of Edge and the Ruins of Midgar. "I could tell ya, but I'd rather show ya." He turned and climbed up on top of the well and extended his hand. "Do you trust me?"

--

_Rayne looked up at him from where she deftly held onto the edge of the clock tower in Twilight Town, her legs dangling. The Dusks were drawing closer, soon they'd eliminate her all together. A quiet demise to a mistake... She should have never crossed through the door._

_Her fingers were slipping, and with no where to go and no way to redistribute her weight, she closed her eyes and quietly murmured a prayer. Perhaps she would return to the Lifestream... though not of the world she was from. It wouldn't be so bad would it? She didn't belong in Midgar anymore than she belonged in this strange place._

_"Take my hand!" _

_The Dusks disappeared with a poof of white mist as two red and silver Chakrams tore through them like they were nothing. "Go on, all of you!" He yelled at them, the remaining ones obeying as they slinked away. _

_"Do you trust me?"_

_In all honestly... she didn't. But there was something in those bright green eyes and kind face that said that perhaps the situation was different as it presented itself. She quickly gave him her hand, and he lifted her up and onto the platform once more. "Name's Axel."_

_"Axel?"_

_"A - X - E - L..." He began before pointing to his head. "Got it memorized?" She smiled, her heart still beating out of her chest as she refused to look down. Perhaps there was hope for this place yet._

--

"Do you trust me?" Reno inquired again, but this time was met with her hand, clad in a black silk glove. He easily lifted her light form up and she adverted her eyes from his.

"I could tell you... but I'd have to show you."

**((A/N: Here's the end of the first chapter, hopefully I can get some good feedback on this, so I know whether to start a new chapter or not. Its my first time actually writing my muse into my stories rather than just drawing inspiration from them.))**


	2. Hotel Dystopia

**Chapter****: 2, Hotel Dystopia  
****Summary****: Reno's gained her trust and brings her for a little tour through Midgar's ruins and the newly established Edge. What surprises lie ahead for then?  
****Disclaimer****: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)  
****Dedication****: ****Muh bestest buddy Zeak who pretty much demanded a second chapter.**

Midgar looked far from the dystopian metropolis that it was when she left it last. Shin-Ra Headquarters in ruins, the slums squashed beneath what had been the upper plate... the ghastly sight of it all sent a chill through her bones.

"That Tranquilizer kick in yet?" Reno asked nonchalantly, drawing the chopper in closer to the fallen city.

"Huh?" So far into her thoughts and memories, she had nearly missed his inquiry, but as she sat back, it managed to make its way to her brain. "Oh! Mhm... thank you."

A wry smile came over his features as he swooped down further, letting her see the wreckage that seemed to still smolder though life had started to grow over it. "Good. Couldn't have you yacking in my chopper, yo."

Rayne glared at him, turning her head to look back out the glass. "Glad to see you were so worried about my discomfort, Reno. Your concern has been noted." She crossed her arms across her chest, though sudden turbulence nearly had her hood fly back, in which she quickly snatched and held down.

"What's a matter? Afraid your hair'll get messed up?"

It was her turn to give him a coy smile as she shook her head. "Afraid you'd see something you may like... then I'll never get rid of you."

Reno hadn't expected the witty retort and found himself, for once, speechless. Instead, he offered a lame, "Heh, in your dreams kid."

Taking another half-lap around the destroyed city, he started heading them towards another city, this one smaller and seemingly still under construction on the outskirts of old Midgar. "Now let me show you Edge."

As they came to land on the formal helicopter landing pad, Rayne had thought really nothing of it. When the uniformed soldiers exited the WRO building to meet them, she had to wonder just what threat, if Sephiroth had truly been defeated, could cause a need for such force.

Then she caught Reno's Electro-Mag Rod to the back of her neck where it met her skull and as her vision flickered and grew dark on the edges, she realized her mistake...

_Never trust a Turk._

"Kind of risky to be carting a rogue experiment, fully functional, without any form of constraints," Tseng murmured as he looked in at the girl who lay on the examination table behind the protective glass as a pair of scientists began evaluating her unconscious form. Reno didn't watch, his back against the glass as he lit up up a cigarette and took a deep drag off it, enjoying the way it burned.

His superior officer glanced to him and shook his head. "Don't tell me you're feeling bad about bringing her in."

"I did what I was told!"

Reno's retort was quick, full of anger. Tseng knew there was a nerve there he hit. The red-haired Turk looked at him with a tinge in his light-hued blue eyes and it only made him smile more.

"She's a creation of Hojo... nothing more -"

"I know that!"

Tseng turned back to the glass, his dark orbs seemingly looking past the events before him to something to come before he closed them and crossed his arms. "Good, because I wouldn't want any drama when we exterminate the experiment."

"_Exterminate?!_" Had Reno turned his head any faster toward him, he probably would have gotten whiplash. "She's just a chick, yo!" He proclaimed, pointing his rod at the glass, hitting it on accident, but with enough force to cause the scientists to look towards them and ponder what the silent argument was about.

"If XIV was made by Hojo, then they're far from anything but an abomination."

Reno grit his teeth, a quiet growl of frustration escaping his lips at he turned toward the glass and glared. "Rayne."

"Excuse -"

"Her name is Rayne." He clarified.

"Did she tell you that?" Tseng chuckled darkly, opening his eyes to gaze sideways at his co-worker. "You're not getting soft on us, are you Reno?"

From anyone who watched the two, it would almost seem like the older Turk got some satisfaction out of getting a raise out of Reno as he held his rod in an aggressive way. "Notta chance! I just think if we're trying to save the Planet now, we can't go and be killing girls off the streets!"

"She was created by -"

"But she's not _Sephiroth._"

The two men stood in silence for a moment, before Reno spoke again. "Lets make her a Turk."

"Are you out of your mind? We've barely got the money in the budget to pay you goons, what makes you think we can afford another?"

He shook his head, his wild red hair falling into his eyes some. "Does she look like she's going to be asking for money? Besides... she's got Jenova cells in her and a good command over them. Think of what she could bring to the team."

"Those Jenova cells are the very reason she should be exterminated, along with whatever other research that idiot Hojo dreamed up."

Reno turned back towards the glass, a small pang of guilt for having tricked the woman into following him. "She's different."

Tseng sighed heavily before turning towards the door. "48 hours, Reno."

"Huh?"

"I'll take care of Reeve, and you've got 48 hours to find proof that we can benefit from keeping XIV alive," he began before glancing over his shoulder at him. "But after that display you put on getting her here, our word isn't going to be the only one you're going to have to earn to get her into a suit."

Reno turned back to the glass, a hand against it as those working on Rain began to draw blood. Why did he even care what happened to her? He'd got his target, he wrote up his report... she wasn't his problem anymore. But something inside him told him differently...

There was something about that girl that just wouldn't leave him be.

**(( A/N: Yay! End Chapter 2! Sorry the chapters are rather short aren't they? I'll see if I can do something about that when I get to Chapter 3. ! Remember, your comments are what keep me writing. Just no flames, criticism is great though, so long as its constructive. ))**


	3. Weird Scientists

**Chapter****: 3, Weird Scientists  
****Summary****: Rayne's been submitted to the scientific testing of the World Regenesis Organization, and will be executed if Reno cannot come up with ample proof that she is not a threat within 48 hours. Can he make it, and if he does... will she ever even trust him?  
****Disclaimer****: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.) **

"Anything in Hojo's notes about her?" Rude questioned as he entered the modest office room, taking a seat on the edge of the computer desk. Reno leaned back dramatically in his chair, sighing loudly as he let his arms fall limply to either side of him.

"Not a damn thing. I can't even find any reference to why Tseng referred to her as XIV."

He'd accessed every data base he had access to and then some, going through what Shin-Ra records had been salvaged, the records from the basement of the mansion in Nibelhiem, even some private files of Hojo. Not a one mentioned this illustrious experiment XIV.

Rude looked down towards his friend through his shades, crossing his corded arms across his muscular chest and sighing. "Not me department. Too much work."

"I know why and its not _my _department!"

The cheery voice caused both of them to snap their attention towards the door where an overly cheery blonde was standing with a stack of journals in hand. Reno twirled around in the chair, letting it go one full revolution before jumping out of it to stand and stretch. "Spill it, Elena."

"If Hojo just did it spur of the moment, he wouldn't have kept tabs, now would he? Especially if he had wanted to keep it quiet, right?"

She tossed the dusty leather bound books into Reno's hands, leaving him and Rude to exchange completely confused expressions. Whether she caught this or not was beyond them, but in her love for talking, she continued on. "Well, look what he did to Gremoire's kid! He didn't really record much, just cut him up and shoved him in the mansion and isn't that where you found the girl?"

"Well -"

"But that Lucretia girl helped Vincent after that, so I'm willing to put money that she probably helped your girl too. So I pulled what journals we had of hers and brought them down."

Reno balanced the books in one forearm while he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. He hadn't thought of that. It was possible that Elena had a point, as much as he didn't want to admit it, but based on the way she continued to stand there expectantly he knew that he was going to have to give credit where it was due.

"Hey Rude, why don't you take Elena and go to the bar for a drink? You guys don't have to stay here for me... and she did such a good job getting me these files, you should celebrate."

The look on his best friend and partner's face was priceless as a mixture of "you can't be serious" and "you'll not live to see morning" flashed across it simultaneously. He knew what Reno was doing, and unfortunately as Elena grabbed his arm and began dragging him out of the room, he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of it.

"Super! I could use a drink! And it would give me something to do until Tseng gets finished with his work!"

Reno smirked, watching as Rude mouthed a silent curse towards him and disappeared across the threshold before finally turning his attention back towards the research at hand.

The room was tiny, sparse, and white. A single toilet sat I the corner, though not at all shielded from the two-way mirror that overlooked the entirety of the prison. Rayne sat, looking down at the sterile gown they had put her in and a flare of rage fired up within her.

The Chakram's summoned quickly to her, barely having a moment in her hand before she flung them hard at the windows. They only made it halfway before dissipating completely and she fell to her knees feeling extremely drained.

"Now, now... you'll only hurt yourself."

She'd heard that voice somewhere before, some time before the fall of Midgar and Shin-Ra's Headquarters, but she couldn't place it. "Where's... my cloak?" Managing to bring herself to a shaky knee, she glared daggers at the dark glass that refused her access to he whom addressed her.

"In holding, along with your other clothing."

Rayne's ears twitched as he spoke again, trying to pick through the mechanical grind and crackle of the speakers to get to the root of the voice. _Just keep him talking, Rayne._

"Why are you doing this?"

There was a pause before she heard the tiny tell-tale pop of the intercom being activated again. "Do not misunderstand our actions as devious, we're acting in favor of the Planet. And by that, it also includes the acquiescence of all things Shin-Ra created that could pose a threat. You included."

"I'm not a threat!" She yelled, finally returning to her feet. "You have seen, I can't even muster enough power shatter the glass that separates us."

"That's what happens when you're in a containment chamber that dampens energy put out by concentrated amounts of Mako energy," he began and in her mind she could see a small smile on his lips. "But you are a rare case, indeed, XIV."

Rayne backed away from the glass, nearly tripping as the backs of her legs hit her bunk. Forcing her to sit down with a thud on its thinly mattressed frame, it was like the memory of him hit her all at once.

"But you... you are a rare case, indeed XIV."

_Tseng crept closer to the wild girl as she knelt terrified in the corner, blood spotting the gown she was wearing. Tubes hung from her body, both that had taken or administered aqueous solutions as well as wires to monitor vitals. Who'd have known Hojo had another experiment outside of that red mutt and the Ancient?_

_Rayne looked at the Turk terrified, backing up against the wall more which forced her to stand. She'd be trapped soon if she couldn't get passed him. She felt groggy though, her head ached, he would be easily able to overpower her._

"Its you causing these alarms to go off isn't it? You're the one killing?" His voice was almost gentle, though there was a hint of contempt to it that she was not fond of. She shook her head 'no' quickly, the action causing her to slide down the wall a little as she lost her center of balance for a moment.

"Come now XIV... the blood trail leads straight up here, and here you are out of your cage and no longer in a vegetative state. Now if you just come with me, we'll fix this entire mess, alright?"

_Had she killed them? It was true, the blood had led to her cage and there were dead guards everywhere. But wouldn't she have remembered it? Her breathing quickened as tears threatened to fall from her eyes._

"Tseng, sir! Jenova is missing and President Shinra has been murdered!"

_The Turk turned to face the white faced employee to see that many of the others were seemingly running to evacuate. It seemed AVALANCE was going to give them a run for their money. The man leaned in though, whispering something to Tseng and he took a step back before regaining composure. "Sephiroth, here? But-"_

_He turned around, only to find the experiment was no longer huddled in the corner. With a heavy sigh, he turned to follow the employee and hopefully gain some light on what the hell was going on._

"Tseng..."

There was a slight 'heh' that came from the intercom before he spoke. "I thought for sure you had forgotten about me."

"I didn't kill those people before..." Her voice was soft, as if she'd still lived with the guilt despite the fact she hadn't committed the crime.

"I know."

"Then why are you holding me now?" There was a little edge behind her words, but barely enough to be noticed.

"Nothing personal. Just business."

She gritted her teeth, getting up as she stood before the glass where she felt he probably stood then. "You think that's just going to make all this feel better? Its going to make it all alright and I'm just going to let you kill me because its 'just business'. If that's what you think, you are sadly mistake -"

"If I had it my way, you would be dead, XIV. But it seems Reno thinks you may be as some use to us..."

Her eyes flared a little more and she turned her back to the window. "To hell with Reno and the rest of you too! If it weren't for him, no one would know I still lived."

Tseng smirked, watching the specimen with interest. She'd grown a lot, both socially and physically in the years she'd spent away. And being away from human contact, it was remarkable progress. Perhaps Hojo had been wrong. "And that is the irony of the situation."

Rayne headed back over to her bed and sat down, curling up so that her knees were both at her chest and she could lay her head on them. She wasn't sure if she should be thankful that Reno was trying to save her life... or angry that he was the reason that she was here in the first place. Hojo had no records of her, she was sure of it. He was merely stretching the time she had to be trapped in these walls before being put out of her miserable meaningless existence.

After all, it was death that gave life meaning, right?

**((A/N: And... there's chapter three. A little longer than the others, I'm kinda proud of the tie-ins I've managed to do with the actual game. Its hard to get an original character to fit in with a canonical storyline. . Well... read, review, and let me know what you think!))**


	4. Persistance

**Chapter: 4, Persistance  
Summary: Time's ticking away, he's managed to finish his paperwork in time but will it be enough to save her life?  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)  
**

"Its all there. Now if you don't mind- -"

"Wait."

Tseng picked up the report, scanning through it briefly as Reno wandered his office and snooped. It wasn't in the Turk's genes to be the only to sit still and wait, especially when he'd literally spent the night at WRO Headquarters doing research.

After what seemed like an eternity to the red-head, he'd finally run out of things to poke at and became impatient. "Well?"

"You actually used the proper header. Connotations too."

Reno growled. "Will it get the job done?"

His superior didn't answer and Reno's anxiety seemed to permeate from the wall despite them being covered by filing cabinets and bookcases. He opened his mouth to speak only to be surprised when Tseng finally spoke.

"I can't speak for Reeve, but you may be on to something here."

He closed the report and Reno closed his mouth with a sigh. "Clock off and go home. If there's something else, I'll be sure to call you if something comes up.

--

They never turned the ungodly bright lights off in Rayne's containment chamber, leaving her really no choice but to stay awake as she awaited execution... or salvation? The latter almost sounded the same as the first to her ears.

The plate of food was only half-touched, the uncooked vegetables gone but the meat remained unscathed. It was left in the middle of the floor where it had been given to her via a lift, as if she were some animal too dangerous to approach.

"I finished the paperwork."

This was a voice she knew without having to concentrate. Reno... She didn't even bother acknowledging his presence, not by look nor word. She had nothing she wanted to say to the man who caused her to be stuck in this hellish prison in the first place.

His gray-blue eyes gazed sympathetically through the glass at her, taking in the features that were once hidden by her black cloak and gloves. She looked completely humanoid to him, her dark chestnut brown hair falling over her caramel-hued skin. How people could call her anything but human was beyond his comprehension.

Then Rayne looked up at the window, almost as if she could feel his burning gaze on her, like she wanted to see the imperfections she sought so hard to hide. Those Mako green eyes that glowed despite the bright lights, and then her ears... elongated and pointed at the tips. He'd not seen anything like them, not on friend nor fiend.

"There's a condition to your release."

Instantly, the young woman looked away from the viewing window and returned to her curled up position near the corner of her bed. "Not interested."

"You could help the Planet... like we do."

She scoffed, a cold sound that made Reno almost recoil. "I have no interest in helping you or the Planet for that matter."

He'd been afraid of this, but was honestly not surprised. He knew she had a kind heart, beneath the scars inflicted by her less-than-conventional means of upbringing. Sighing, he opened the door to her cell and entered, closing it behind him. An electronic hum told him that it was locked once more.

"What are you doing?"

Rayne looked up at him curiously, scooting away and closer to the corner of his bed. He shrugged and plopped down to rest his back against the wall opposite the modest wall-mounted bunk.

"Sitting down."

"I see that, but why- -"

"Proving to you that I want you to help us save the Planet," he replied matter-of-factly and she deadpanned.

"By sitting in my cell?"

"Yes."

He leaned his head back against the sterile white wall, unstrapped his Electro-Mag Rod from his wrist, and sat it on the floor next to him with a small metallic clank. She just started at him, wondering if he'd elaborate but the moment of silence that followed made it all to clear that if he had a plan... he wasn't sharing.

"It makes no sense."

"What doesn't?" He'd closed his eyes, but reopened one to gaze lazily at her.

"Your plan... _you. _None of this!" Rayne scooted off the bed, making sure to pull her gown down as she stood. "Seriously! Who goes through all the trouble of kidnapping someone only to fight to get them released?"

Reno shrugged. "Me, obviously."

His reply went unnoticed as she continued. "Furthermore, what sense does it make to try to convince me to help you by sitting in my room? You're the reason I'm in here! I don't want to spend the remainder of my incarceration with you!"

--

_I don't want to spend my incarceration with you!_

Either man stopped where they stood as they heard the proclamation. Neither had expected it, the specimen should have been alone, her feeding wasn't for another hour and there were no further tests...

"Reno? What the hell is he doing?"

Tseng reached for the door only to have his wrist gently grabbed by Reeve. Shaking his head, he seemed to have a thoughtful look upon his stern features. "Let the kid do his thing. Maybe he knows what he is doing."

The Head of the Turks gave him an incredulous look. "With all due respect, sir, this is _Reno_ we're talking about."

"Yes. And he has come through for us more than once in a pinch. Perhaps we owe him the benefit of the doubt?"

"But... "

"What harm can the specimen do? The dampening will only weaken her if she attempts to use her powers."

Reeve had him there, and Tseng conceded and decided to silently watch on.

--

"Well?"

The inquiry caused her frustrations to almost diminish as she felt curiosity win over. "Well what?"

"Do you feel better now, or do you want to yell some more?"

"UGH! You are incorrigable Reno! You really are! I swear if you do in fact have a brain beneath that scraggly red hair of yours, you're a walking mystery of science. Because you certainly don't use it!"

And with that, she walked back over and plopped down on her bed, refusing to give him another look. "You wouldn't be the first to say that." He flashed her a grin, a cocky sideways one that didn't quite reach his eyes. It only made her blood boil.

"I hate you."

"I'll grow on you... just wait and see. Once we start working together- -"

"I'm not working with you."

She was losing her fire, but there was still a finality behind her tone.

"Once we start working together," he began again. "You'll learn to love me."

--

Reeve looked on without emotion through the glass, but there was a twinkle in his dark eyes that even Tseng could recognize. Perhaps Reno was correct in her not being a threat... the dampening equipment only phased magical abilities, but the Electro-Mag Rod was open to her and she didn't even give it a passing glance.

_The specimen shows docile brainwaves when pain receptors are agitated, suggesting perhaps while she retains some of JENOVA's mimetic properties, there are factors that nullified her innate need to destroy. -Lucrecia Crescent, X Day, X Month, X Year._

"Cancel the eradication of this one. I think he's shown us all we need to know."

**(( A/N: Took a little longer to get this one out than it usually does for me. Had some trouble trying to decide how to introduce the research done on her and how to get Reno's mission accomplished. Hopefully this is good for you all! Read, review, and thank you! ))**


	5. Acquiescence

**Chapter:** 5, Acquiescence  
**Summary:** Reno's persistence has worked out for the better, but just what will they do with her now that he's cleared her name?  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a joint production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)

"I wasn't under the impression that you'd ever stop talking," Rayne stated as she laid staring up at the snowy white ceiling of her cell. Glancing over, the young woman found Reno with his head lulled forward. Tuning her pointed ears, she could hear the faint sounds of his snoring and sighed heavily. _How the hell can he sleep in here?_

Though irritated as she was with the man, she couldn't help but to smile and toss the sheet that was on her bed over him haphazardly. As strange and completely illogical Reno tended to be, he was honest in the fact that he followed through with everything with his promises. The simple way he worded things, the promises he made... he had made good on each one. He'd taken her around Midgar, he'd taken her to Edge._ He never promised that he wasn't going to turn me over to ShinRa in the process._

The fact that he hadn't, but he _had _promised his employers that he would bring her back made it so that he did his job without breaking his word to anyone. _Either he's smarter than I give him credit for, or its sheer dumb luck._

_Rayne stood, the chilly steel floor making her regret the movement instantly, yet she didn't give them much time to adjust as she continued over towards the two-way glass. She pressed her palms against the dark mirror like surface and rested her forehead against it. Closing her eyes soon after, she focused on the area outside the room, sensing for sentient minds._

_pat pat pat pat_

Footsteps. They drew closer, finally entering the room and she could hear the sounds of things being shuffled around on the other side of the glass. _Cleaning service. _"Excuse me? Um... I hate to bother you, but could you turn down the lights?" She waited, but only received silence in return. "I'm not asking you to turn them off... but my friend has fallen asleep and I don't think it is fair of him to suffer just because I'm being held here."

Still she was met with silence, and she figured that perhaps they weren't going to give into her request until the lights suddenly dimmed. It wasn't much, but enough that her vibrant green eyes felt instantly relieved. "Thank you." She made her way over to the cot once more, and it wasn't until she sat down and looked over to Reno that she remembered something.

_...but my friend has fallen asleep..._

She's referred to him as a friend. "Its meaningless. Simply a term to get them to sympathize with the situation," she clarified in a hush tone to herself. "He is my captor after all." Rayne laid back down, curling up as the wanned light caused her lack of sleep to catch up to her. Her eyelids drooped, and though she fought it, the battle didn't last long and slumber came upon her, swallowing her like the ocean tide.

- - - -

"Skills assessment?" Rayne pulled at the black suit that hugged the natural curvature of her body, unlike the hooded robe she was used to. It felt so _constricting_, as if she were being confined to a cage and being controlled. Of course, she knew better than that, but still it felt like that to her subconscious and she didn't like it. _I haven't even told them I would join their idiot team._

"We need to know the extent of your powers before we can deem you safe for the streets," Tseng said with a tone of apology in his voice. "While Lucretia did mark some notes about you, Hojo did absolutely nothing but keep you as his sentient petri dish."

"Can't do much when you're a vegetable," Reno added from his place atop a table outside the training room. He kicked his legs back in forth, and Rayne had to wonder if the only time he kept still was when he was sleeping.

"Okay... but if I've not done anything violent yet and I've been out of this place for so long, then why think I'll start now?" She tugged again at the suit, beginning to realize why Reno constantly kept his open.

"You haven't been under our watch all that time, only recently when the belief that there were robed Sephiroth clones running about Nibelhiem again." Tseng opened the door, nodding with his head. "This room doesn't dampen your powers, so you'll be free to use whatever you wish in here."

Rayne stepped into the room, her heavy combat boots clanking loudly against the floor. Looking around, she made note of the grungy gray metallic paneling on the walls, the various scorch marks, dents, and scrapes. Some panels were missing entirely, exposing complex wiring and tubes underneath. "Alright... so what are you putting me up against? Some kind of fiend?"

"No, actually, you'll be fighting me," Reno said with a grin, entering the room and shutting the door. Instantly the walls began to disappear and they found themselves in a simulated environment. Darkness fell in the sky as the floor gave way to cracked pavement. Around them, wrecked and decrepit trains lay either disconnected or tipped over off their tracks as if a large accedent had happened.

Despite this, Rayne new exactly where they where. _The Train Graveyard in Midgar, interesting choice._ She couldn't dwell more on the topic as an electrical shock from the end of Reno's Electro-Mag Rod caught her in the chest and caused her to stumble backward.

"I know I'm a good looking guy--"

"Can it."

With a wave of her hand, the chakram found her hands, their weight causing her to hunch slightly. Hopping backward, she tossed them hard at him, one after the other. His Barrier spell from the Materia in his bangle repelled them quickly, but she caught them and sent them back once more without waiting. Able to fend one off with his rod, the next clipped his shoulder before returning again.

"And now you're a little less cute."

"So you admit that I'm cute." He rushed at her swinging his stick wildly, though the attacks themselves were short and precise. She kept one chakram raised, using it to guard what attacks toward her face that she could.

"You wish." Sparks sometimes came with the attacks that she parried, finding herself being forced backward until she was pressed against a train. His attacks stopped and she chanced moving her weapon down enough to look up into his face.

Reno moved his face closer to hers, a sparkle in his light blue eyes, that sly smile ever present on his thin lips. Her heart raced a little, perhaps from the adrenaline pumping through her veins or maybe just the closeness of their bodies. He slammed his hand against the train behind her and she jumped, not making any other movement though to get away. Coming closer to her, that grin grew larger as he parted his lips. "My, you're a jumpy one."

She growled, sending one chakram away as it dissolved into green mist, much the color of the Lifestream. Rayne pushed him away, though her eyes widened in surprise as she shocked his chest with the same electricity that his rod had sent at her before. He jumped, the jolt both surprising him and causing the involuntary movement and he looked at her in confusion. They hadn't given her any Materia...

"Now who's the jumpy one?"

This had happened before, she remembered it now as she sprang on the offensive, only fighting with a mixture of the electricity and her summoned weapon. There was a word for it that she never knew until she met a man named DiZ after Axel's death. He helped her get back to this world.

- - - -

"_Don't come any closer! I swear I'll make you regret it!" Rayne cried to the masked man in red, clenching her hands into tight fists. He only laughed, moving steadily closer._

"_Don't be a fool girl. You know you can't hurt me and I don't think you're like these other Nobodies," he began in a voice that sounded cheery despite the fact that it resounded deep in his chest. "I don't think you are a Nobody at all, but you are a shadow of someone, aren't you?"_

_Rayne shook her head, her forehead creasing with the grimace that formed. Who was this man? How did he know things about her? What was more, he wasn't an Organization member, yet he was wandering around Castle Oblivion like he owned the place. Fire burned from her fingertips as green tendrils of energy drew up from the floor, traveling down her arms and forming two chakram. "What do you know of me old man?!"_

_Though her cloak was drawn up around her face, DiZ was quite sure that what he was seeing before him was not the original owner of the abilities. "Number 8, the Flurry of Dancing Flame... Axel. Quite a talent you have there if you're able to steal such a thing from him."_

"_Shut up! I took nothing from him!" Dusks rose around her, their soulless forms knowing only her command, not questioning why it was she who summoned them and not their master. There was emotion in her voice, heavy, as if with tears._

"_Mimetic. Either you spent enough time with the lad to pick it up permanently or you touched him and absorbed it through battle of sorts." _

_This man was far too smart for his own good. It both unsettled Rayne and piqued her interests. She knew nothing about herself, nothing of if there were others like her... Did he hold the answers she sought? "Who are you? How do you know about me?"_

"_I am DiZ... and I don't know about you. Merely observations and my own knowledge about the Nobodies." He looked behind her, and motioned for her to move. He too moved out of the way of the doorway, leaning close for her to hear. "If you seek answers about yourself, then return to the place you came from. You'll find nothing but the twisted dillusions of a broken organization here."_

"_They... they are the reasons Axel is dead. I watched... Saix--"_

"_Don't dwell on it. Just get yourself out of here, it is not safe for a simple girl here."_

_Many would have argued with this fact, Rayne embraced the fact that he saw her as helpless. Like Axel, he saw her as something more than some grotesque creation. She nodded, a small smile appearing on her features. "Thank you."_

- - - - -

Reno's rod clipped her cheek, blood beginning to seep quickly from it. The sting from the cut was nothing compared to the next one she caught on the other side that she felt resonate in her cheekbone. He'd caught her daydreaming again, and though she was able to fend him off for the most part, Rayne dropped her guard at the last moment leaving her wide open. "Getting tired?"

She backflipped, touching the side of a train. Her form disappeared into it as it seemed to be absorbed by threads of the lifestream, only to seep out at the top and throw her chakrams once more. "Just getting started!" Reno sidestepped one, jumping over the other. Unluckily for him, the one that didn't promptly return to her hand ricocheted off the train behind him and knocked him in the back of his head. "What about you?"

"That will be all."

Tseng's voice rung out over their training area and both were startled by it. They'd forgotten they weren't in Midgar, let alone the fact that Midgar no longer stood. Their surroundings disappeared with haste, becoming the drab training room once more. With the train beneath Rayne ceasing to exist, she fell to the ground with an "oomph", and landed on her backside.

She looked down at her weapons, reflecting on them and their owner with a distant sigh, dismissing them back to wherever it was she was able to conjure them from. Glancing up, Reno's hand produced itself before her. "You're... pretty strong. For a girl."

"Heh, you're alright yourself." She took the hand and stood back up, realizing that the suit didn't bother her as much anymore. Despite the battle, it hadn't restricted her movement at all, let alone gotten scuffed up. It was... a very durable and reliable little outfit.

Reno's lip was bleeding and she felt almost bad about it... however fun she had working out her frustrations on him for capturing her in the first place. Without a word, she placed a hand on his cheek, turning his head toward her and placed two fingers on his lip. Green ribbons caressed the injury from there, escaping from her fingertips and healed it completely. He looked at her surprised, though she paid little notice as she did the same to her own wounds.

_JENOVA product instinctively seeks out Planets to destroy them and the life on it, acting without personality or morals. To think this way, JENOVA is not evil, if acting on the principal of its own innate genetic chain of thinking. This girl Hojo created by mere mistake is by far the most perfect specimen as a JENOVA clone with the exception of two things. Due to my counteractions to keep her alive, she has developed a natural ability to repair the damage done to her by him if its harmful. She creates where JENOVA would destroy or she absorbs and adapts where JENOVA would be completely immune. I only hope what has been done to Vincent will have the same nullifying affect. -Lucrecia Cresant X Day, X Month, X Year._

Finally feeling the gazes on her, she looked up with a cocked head, pondering what it was that caused them to look at her so strangely. "Did I... pass the skills assessment?" She questioned, feeling the need to change the subject to something else, anything at all.

"Yes, you did quite well. Why don't you and Reno wait in the Briefing Room while I speak with Reeve about the results?" Tseng's tone seemed different toward hers than it had been when they spoke before and she had to stare at him for a long moment trying to figure it out before her mind was satisfied with not knowing and allowed herself to comply.

"Alright..." She turned to Reno who was absently toeing at the scuff marks their boots had left on the floor and shook her head. "Coming?"

He nodded, following her out of the room before taking the lead from her and showing her the way to the Breifing Room.The two men waited until the others were gone before speaking. "Its exactly as he said in the report then?"

"It would appear that way. It seems Hojo was not as useless as we thought he was," Reeve smiled, turning away from the viewing window. "Nevermind the fact that it was his disregard for her and the woman's meddling that worked in our favor. Failsafe, indeed."

Tseng nodded in agreement, watching his employer. "So what do we do now?" His dark eyes narrowed some in thought, his arms folded across his chest.

"Register her into the database and print her off an Identification badge. Reno wanted her in the Turks, then in the Turks she shall be. She may be just the thing we need."

"Right away, sir."

- - - - -

Reno leaned back in the plush chair, his legs on the long table before him, crossed as he relaxed. Rayne didn't sit, however, preferring to stand off in the corner as she looked at various things around the room. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"You."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I mean... what about me? It bothers me to have all this talk about me without being able to hear it. Everyone seems to know so much more about me than I do." Though about to continue, she didn't have a chance before Rude entered the room.

"Hey Rude, looking sharp as always."

He smirked at his partner, flicking a card at Rayne with a snap of his wrist. "Welcome to the team."

"What? But I never--" She looked down at the card in her hands, cocking her head to the side. _When the hell did they snap a picture of me? _"Reno, what did they tell them?"

He only smiled, his arms behind his head as he reclined, his unruly hair trapped beneath them. "Why argue? You're one of us now. You can't say you haven't had fun today."

She opened her mouth to retort, only to find that she couldn't argue there. The truth being, today was fun in some way to her. All in all, this was the most human interaction she'd had in a conscious state of mind for some time now and... she had missed it. "One month. I'll give you a month and if I don't agree with the stuff you can convince me that you are truly different from the Turks from ShinRa days, then I'll stay."

"That's all I ask, beautiful."

**((This is starting to take longer and longer each time, but no worries, I haven't lost interest. Life has picked up for me as of late though, so its merely me trying to find time to sit and think of what to write rather than not having any want to write. ))**


	6. Good Night Sweet Girl

**Chapter: 6, Good Night Sweet Girl  
Summary: So they're a team now, but does coworker mean that Rayne will open up and begin to trust Reno once again?****  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a joint production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)  
Dedication: To my dedicated readers who've been replying to my every chapter, thank you! You're the only reason I keep working so hard on this!**

"He... wasn't my boyfriend."

"Huh?"

Reno looked up at Rayne from where he'd been staring aimlessly into his drink, his steely blue eyes searching her heart-shaped face for any reasoning behind her words. She didn't seem like she was going to answer at first, instead swirling the hot Dumbapple Cider that she had in her mug around. He shrugged, turning his attention back to the whiskey he was working on.

"When we first met... I'd called you Axel and you asked me if he was my boyfriend. He wasn't." She looked at him, nostalgia apparent in those solemn green eyes of hers. "He was a good friend... my only friend for awhile."

He listened to her, feeling awkward at the sad sound of her voice. Was this why she'd been so quiet since they'd gotten to the bar? She was thinking of him? "For someone who was 'good friend,' you spend a lot of time thinking about him."

"I miss him."

"Then go see him."

_If only it were so easy. _"He's... dead." Rayne pressed her bare palms flat against the sides of the glass, letting them warm her cold flesh. The liquid within vibrated as her hands trembled, though that was less from being cold than it was thinking about Axel.

"Oh..." If Reno had thought it had been impossible for him to feel anymore awkward, this would have proven that little theory false right then and there. "I read in your files that you can hear the cries in the Planet. If he's dead, then you should still be able--"

"No. I can't feel him..." She narrowed her eyes some, turning them away from his, and wished for her Organization robe again. Rayne wanted nothing more than to hide at that moment; she could feel the red burning on her cheeks. "Because he never existed. He was a Nobody."

"Kind of a cruddy thing to say about a guy you liked so much."

"No... he wasn't... forget I said anything. Not that you care, Reno. I'm going back to the building. If I don't make it back by curfew--"

Reno grabbed her wrist as she moved to leave, and for several moments they just remained like that in silence. Finally, he let her go and hopped off his chair, dropping a few Gil on the counter. "Curfew isn't for an hour." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Let me... walk you back though."

"I don't need you to baby set me." The comment itself held no fire, leaving her lips nearly out of habit. As she left, she made no move to elude him, nor did she show signs of not wanting his presence. Instead she kept her pace slow, making sure he was instep with her the entire way.

- - - - -

Rain had begun to fall on the streets of Edge, many commoners rushing to get underneath the cover of building or umbrella. But Rayne and Reno paid it no heed, instead taking their time as they walked back to the office. Reno would have preferred to just call a chopper to meet them on the roof and fly them back, but if this was what she wanted...

It was a strange notion to the fiery red-head and he had to stutter a step when the realization hit him that he even cared about what she wanted at all. He'd evened their score long ago after her capture by getting her a job and a place to live. His job was complete, his debts squared with himself and those around him, he should have held a free conscience.

Yet he didn't.

It bothered him to know the life Rayne had gone to because of the circumstances of her existence. It bothered him that no one wanted to treat her as a human because her scientific lineage linked her to Hojo and her genetic linked her to even worse, Sephiroth and Lucretia. And yet, because of the meddling of one woman, she'd turned out alright. Because she was raised away from this life, though knew the truth right off the bat, she escaped the fates of those before her. She was different.

A cause worth fighting for.

"What are you thinking about, Reno?" Her voice rung like light through the fog of his thoughts and he looked down into her face.

"Lots of things."

She sighed, and turned forward. Rayne wasn't going to press the matter, she wasn't wired that way. If someone didn't wish to bring up what was bothering them then--

"Why did you trust me so easily when we first met? Especially with your knowledge of the Turks and the life you've experienced." The question was completely out of left field for her, but she found a certain kind of comfort in the knowledge that he wasn't nearly as shallow as she pegged him out to be before.

"For the same reason I called you Axel when I saw you." Rayne stopped underneath an awning, shivering a little. Reno removed his jacket and despite her fuss, draped it on her shoulders. "You remind me of him," she continued finally, a small smile playing on her lips. "The way you talk, carry yourself... even the color of your hair. There are so many things I saw in him that I see in you now."

"You loved him."

It wasn't a question, but a statement, and again she was surprised. Had she let her guard down around him again enough for him to pick that up? "Yeah."

"And he didn't love you--"

Rayne began walking again, the splash of puddles beneath her boots betraying the hurt she felt at the tough. "He couldn't love me," she corrected quickly.

Reno cocked his head to the side, running to catch up as the rain continued to soak his white shirt down to his sculpted chest, leaving it as if he weren't even wearing a shirt at all almost. "How couldn't he love you? I don't understand."

"Like I said... he didn't exist."

- - - - -

There wasn't much of her story about this "Axel" fellow that made sense to Reno, of love and of people who don't exist. To make up someone to fall in love with only to say they were a nobody? Perhaps it was the side effect of the experiments and being kept in a coma for so long. Maybe Axel was a fictional boyfriend she created for herself in her dreams.

_He couldn't love me._

Certainly though, if she had created him, he would have been flawless. He wouldn't have died, he would have requited her love, and she wouldn't have to refer to him as a nobody. Did he make a mistake in stopping her termination? Was this just a desperate cry for her to be put out of the misery of being away from her dreamland. Maybe the real world was too much for her.

"Arg!" He tossed his pillow across the room, watching as it hit the wall and fell uselessly to the floor. Things were not supposed to be so difficult. Reno wakes up, he clocks in, he gets his orders and he carries out his mission. Reno comes back, clocks off, gets drinks and goes home, sometimes waking up with a strange bedfellow, but more often than not, is ready to go back to work and clock in again without problem.

And now...

Things weren't as simple as a routine anymore. Another person had been thrown into the mix, and not just any other person... Rayne. As if the name was supposed to mean something to him... it did and that was the strangest thing of all. She made him feel different, like seeing an old childhood friend that gave you rumblies in your stomach. Just the air around her felt different.

A high-pitched ring entered his ears, sounding once, before the silence began to hang heavier in the room then it had before. Looking over, his cell phone's front screen was alight with a sea-green color, moved ever so slightly by the vibrations of the ring. Effortlessly flipping it open, the tiny black text burned his eyes as he squinted to read it.

**Sender: **_Rayne_

_I hope this doesn't wake you. I wanted to apologize for the way_

_I acted earlier. Axel is a difficult subject for me to talk about._

_Don't let it bother you, its nothing personal against you. I'd_

_take it as a complement that you remind me of him._

**_--_End of Message--**

He smirked lopsidedly, setting the phone back over on the side table. For some reason, the tiny text message gave him a little peace of mind. Turning over, her closed his eyes and let the Sandman do the rest. He was asleep in a matter of minutes, his pillow still across the room on the floor.

**((A/N: Not much of a sixth chapter, I know. Its more... filler really. I got inspired this morning to write it when a plot bunny decided to hop up on my lap and lick my face while I was playing Fable: The Lost Chapters. Anyways, next chapter, look forward to some of the other FF7 gang. People outside of the WRO/Turks family. :) If you have any requests as to what you'd like to see next, I'll see if I can put it in! ))**


	7. Ephemeral Memories

**Chapter: 7, Ephemeral Memories****  
Summary: Rayne's come across a book of _LOVELESS_ and has become quite fond of it. Too bad a mission to meet two former allies interrupts her reading.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a joint production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)**

_There is no hate, only joy__  
For you are beloved by the goddess  
Hero of the dawn, healer of worlds_

_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul  
Pride is lost  
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh_

Rayne had never read words that seemed to have the power to bring her to her knees, that is, were she not already setting down. She'd only read into the second act, and yet she felt as if she were already connected to it on levels she couldn't yet fully imagine. "_LOVELESS, _eh? I heard Genesis liked that stuff."

Her green eyes shot up to meet Reno's who came to sit down on the edge of the couch that she sat on, looking over her shoulder at the text. "And you?"

"I think its a load of garbage. Not my thing."

She scoffed, shaking her head and dog-eared the page she was on before closing the book altogether. "I don't think you would know a good bit of literature if it bit you in the ass, Reno." With a fluid motion, she pulled her legs onto the couch and turned so that she was facing him, her head lying on the other arm rest.

"Probably not, but that's why I don't read the junk. You're not going to go all crazy and lose your mind on me are you? Because the last three experiments I knew that came into contact with that dribble ended up a little..." he paused and made a little motion signifying "crazy" with his finger near his temple.

"I'm not going to go mental," she began, narrowing her eyes at him. "They grew up with no idea what they were, I however think I've found a little more insight than you all did about where I came from." There was a tone about her that he'd not heard from her before, and it caused a bit of concern to raise in her.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it," he said as he stood, holding his hands up in a 'nothing up my sleeves' manner. Rayne waved him off.

"I wasn't just some test tube baby... Not like everything has said that you've found. I had a host mother, a real one like Sephiroth had, and Genesis and Angeal too. We were bore from mothers... just had Jenova injected in us. I know that much, I just didn't know I had been born the same way," there was a small smile on her lips as she looked up to him. "I think the fact that I was human once helps keep me sane. No matter what... I was human first, a monster later."

Reno bent down so that he could look her in the eyes. "But you're not a monster." Off the clearly surprised look on Rayne's face, he tried to recover his normal behavior. "I mean, if you want to think yourself some kind of creepy fiend, fine by me. But you're still kickin' and that has to count for somethin'."

She smiled... a true one. A smile that actually reached those alluring eyes of hers and for some reason, Reno was glad that his words had reached her. "Right. So... was there some reason for you to come in here outside of wanting to interrupt my poetry reading?"

He thought about if for a moment, having completely forgotten about why he'd come in there. After a couple moment's silence his grey-blue eyes brightened and he nodded. "Right, we've got a mission. Reeve asked specifically for you and I to go."

"Not you and Rude?"

"Nope... besides, Rude gets all shy around Tifa. Best to take you and get you out of here once in awhile." She lofted a sculpted brow at that, pondering how someone like Rude would get shy around some "Tifa" person, but didn't question it. After all, orders were orders, right?

- - - - -

"Yo! Over here!" Reno yelled just as he and Rayne finally reached the outskirts of town. The WRO vehicle dropped them off there, leaving them to meet two people who'd Rayne never seen before; a blonde headed fellow with a rather angry looking sword and a long dark haired female.

"Can we just get this over with?" The blonde began, sounding none-too-thrilled to see the two Turks. His eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, the lenses reflective. The woman though held a smile on her lips that put Rayne at ease some.

"Don't mind Cloud, we couldn't do this without you Reno." She looked past Reno to where Rayne awkwardly stood, suddenly pondering if these people would freak out like many did when they caught sight of her ears.

_That's it, from this day forward, I'm wearing my hair down._

"This is Rayne, she's new to the Turks. Not bad for new blood." Reno introduced. She gave her a sort of numb nod, though her attention, inwardly, felt drawn toward Cloud. For some reason, there felt like there was something familiar about him. Perhaps she'd seen him when she'd crossed over between worlds? No... she would have clearly remembered that...

"So what kind of nasties do you have for us, Tifa?"

Reno's words took her out from her thoughts and back into the present. _Oh, the girl is Tifa... Wait, Rude has a crush?_

"You took too long. We took care of them." Cloud began, walking forward some and producing a necklace from his pocket. It was tarnished a little, nothing some polish couldn't fix. "Whatever it was that they were after, this is all that's left. Tifa thought we should send it back with you guys." He handed it to Rayne.

Little did he expect the Geostigmatic pain that hit his skull when their hands touched. Little did she expect that she'd be feeling it too, nor the pictures that played before her very eyes. Fire, destruction, being trapped within a mako-filled tube. Then a truck ride, a friend's death... a girl's smile as she floated to the bottom of a lake. They didn't make sense, and yet it made her sick to her stomach both with just seeing it and with an overwhelming guilt and grief.

It wasn't until both of them dropped the pendant that she snapped to only to have Cloud's sword pointed at her throat. "Sephiroth."

For some reason, the name sparked a fire in her. "I am _nothing_ like him."

"You're exactly like him. I felt you... inside my head. What were you going to do? Take over, try to make me work for ShinRa again?" Cloud pressed the blade harder into her throat, but she didn't move. Tifa grabbed his arm, pulling him away as Reno tried to move himself between them.

"C'mon you two!" Tifa begged.

"What's going on?!" Reno prodded, but got no response.

"I wasn't _trying _to do anything to you! I don't know what happened... I touched your hand and then all those... memories, just came flooding in," she brought a shaking hand to her head and Cloud looked her over. She was pale, perhaps she hadn't meant to have that happen? Maybe she was telling the truth.

"Stay away from us. I catch you around again, and I'll kill you." Perhaps she'd unlocked a part of his memory that he'd wanted to stay buried. Old feelings and things best left in the past... whatever it was, it had him mounting his bike and impatiently waiting Tifa to join him.

Tifa looked between them, her female intuition picking up on the nerves, and though not understanding it, she mounted Cloud's bike behind him. "We brought that bike for you guys to ride out there, but since we're already good, then just use it to get back home. We can get it another time." Reno nodded and picked up the locked from the ground, pocketing it.

"Yeah sure. Just make sure Cloud's not such a pissy body next time, yo!" He called after them as they sped off back into the city. He turned to Rayne, and for the first time realized the scared look she had in her eyes. She didn't even look at him, yet continued looking down into her palm as if it held all the answers to life's questions. "Hey... don't let him get to you. He's always like that. Real downer."

Still no response from her, and instead he reached out and took her hand, feeling the overwhelming need to protect her right now. He'd protected her this far, why stop now, right? She looked at him, though her gaze seemed muted, distant, as if she were detached from the very world itself at the moment. Allowing numbly for him to lead her to the bike, she climbed on behind him and wrapped on tight.

She wanted to go _home_... wherever home was. She wanted to get away from all this pain and shame... to find out who she really was, and where she came from. Where she belonged...

Reno glanced over his shoulder, wondering if it was just the bikes vibrations or if she was truly trembling. Rayne buried her face in the back of his suit and began to do the only thing she could do... cry.

_My friend, the fates are cruel  
There are no dreams, no honour remains  
The arrow has left the bow of the goddess _

**(( A/N: Woo, hooray for random cameos by Tifa and Cloud! Anyways, Rayne's getting a little flaky on us, but Reno's been there to pick up the pieces. Will he remain enough to keep her from falling apart? Only time will tell! ))**


	8. Perfect

**Chapter: 8, Perfect****  
Summary: Rayne finds evidence of having been created in a similar way as the other projects within the JENOVA project and sets out for answers, finding more than she had bargained for before the day is out.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rayne. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a joint production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.) **

"Are you sure... you want to do this?" Rude questioned as he hovered the chopper over the plains just outside of Kalm. Rayne smiled, thankful for his concern. For a man of so few words, it meant a lot that he would voice his worry to her, let alone take time out of his day to take her here.

She'd been avoiding Reno ever since the _incident _with Cloud and Tifa.

"I'll be alright. After all, I can just call you when I'm ready, right?" She smiled, looking back at him. He nodded, bringing the chopper down low enough for her to hop out, the wind expelled from the quickly rotating blades blowing her chestnut hair wildly to the point where she had to actually hold it down as to not catch it in them. "Thanks again, Rude."

"Mhm."

The helicopter rose back into the sky, heading off towards Edge once more as she was left to gaze upon the grey cobblestone streets of Kalm. She felt very out of her element, wearing the light faded blue jeans and long sleeved purple shirt. Rather than hide her ears within a hood, she wore her silken hair down along her shoulders, bangs just barely gracing her thin eyebrows. Her ears hid some, just the points sticking out from within her hair, leaving the Mako-induced glow of her sea green eyes the only thing left to separate her from the crowd.

Her sneakers made little sound as she made her way through the stone town, looking into her cell phone for the address she'd saved earlier. Since they had returned from their last mission over a week ago, since the reaction she'd gotten from touching Cloud, she had retreated within the Research and Development Department, reading file after file that had been kept on her, on the JENOVA Project, on her host parents.

Nevermind the fact the no cellular phone rule had given her a reason to avoid Reno.

As of late, things had become more complicated when here was near. Her thoughts were a little more clouded, and she found herself running different "what if" scenarios through her mind. There were many things, some silly, some a little more emotionally... _involved. _The feelings were all too reminiscent of the days she had spent with Axel and so she distanced herself. If there were a time and place for such things, it had to be later.

For now, a part of her begged for proof that she had been something other than an experiment before, something more meaningful than a monster born of science. If she could have proof, just one little thing that noted that she had come from something other than cells bred within a test tube, she could put her soul to rest.

Unlike Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis... she'd lived her entire life the experiment and monster. She'd lived knowing she was different because she was created for science, her existence was not her own to do as she willed. They had been raised special, but human first, monsters later. The transition of human to fiend was one more mentally devastating than a road to reverse the process.

Of course, Rayne knew this mission of hers would bring no changes to what she was, but for her, it was a matter of _who_ she was. She needed that reassurance that there was something that changed her, something to blame, something that said she had the right to be.

_A Nobody doesn't have the right to know... nor does it have the right to be._

Those words had echoed in her mind often as of late, the words DiZ had explained to her when she had expressed her grief of Axel's passing, and his insistence that he couldn't love her, and that he was sorry. Back then, she had connected with him on another page, outside of friendship and petty attractions. They were both existing in a World within odds where they shouldn't have existed at all. They were there of special circumstances, leaving them a little less human than those around them, leaving them to ridicule from the ones who didn't understand what it was like.

Sure, he lacked what was needed for the basis of feelings and emotion, but that didn't make him any less of a person. If she could have just let him know that. _No... there wasn't anything you could do there, but lie. You, however, have a chance._

Rayne looked up, glancing at the stone houses, their midnight blue rooftops some complete with chimneys. Each looked quaint and friendly, inviting even as she—an outsider—looked in on them. She looked down at her phone again, scrolling through the menus to bring up a picture of a young blonde woman with emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle with the riches of the world despite the meager clothing she wore. It was a picture that had come up in the databanks along with an address and the name "Sephyria."

Her host mother.

From what she understood, the woman had offered her body to the science department in exchange for a ticket out of the slums. It was what many people who lived under the plate dreamed of, and the money they paid for the experiment on her unborn child was enough to get her a place in quiet Kalm after she had the child.

The notion that she was given up so easily didn't bother Rayne, for she understood it well. It was common survival of the fittest, basic human instinct. Life was one big race to live, as comfortably as one could manage, to be the best of the best, and then die and leave a legacy. Naturally, it was common sense that sacrifices may need to be made.

Like giving up a child to science.

So lost in her thought, Rayne almost didn't see the elderly woman until she stumbled into her, knocking her groceries onto the ground. "Oh! E-excuse me! I'm sorry. I wasn't paying any attention!" She quickly apologized as she bent down to begin picking up the mess. The lady bent down as well, checking the produce as she put it back away, a kind smile on her face.

"You are alright. I don't move as well as I used to."

As the last tomato was put in place, the young Turk hefted the bag into her arms and reached out to take the other. "Here, let me help you get these to your home. Its the least I could do for knocking them out of your hands."

The woman smiled up, kindred emerald eyes glinting with a soft glow up at her as she turned to begin leading them down a side street. "You are too kind, dear. There should be more young ones like you, it would do this world some good."

A warm breeze swept through, brushing Rayne's hair from her face some, feeling heavenly on her bare flesh. It wasn't often that she spent time outside the World Regenesis Headquarters, hiding away to research or just escape the world in general. Perhaps after this she'd take a walk around Edge when she got back. "It's this one, hun."

Glancing up, she hadn't realized the woman had stopped and unlocked the door to her tiny cottage. Shuffling within, the rich smell of polished oak floors and various flowers enraptured the younger woman. "Where would you like me to put these Mrs--"

"Ms. Xionysis, and you may sit them there on the table. Can I get you anything, dear? A glass of milk?"

"It's fine Ms. Xionysis, I really should be going," Rayne answered as she looked around the house. It was strange to think the two story home could house just the lone woman, no sign of pets or a husband, or children for that matter. Old paintings lined the wall, portraying different landscapes, yet only one single picture existed. On the mantle of her fireplace, a portrait of a young blonde sat. There was a sad smile on her lips, and she was pregnant.

_Is this... is this really her? Could this old woman really be my mother?_

"Miss?"

She glanced up, having been carried away in her thoughts again. "I-I'm sorry?"

"I haven't seen you around here, I asked if you were visiting family."

It was hard for Rayne to focus, to be looking upon the face of the woman who gave birth to her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask her, like how she heard of the JENOVA Project, where her father was, why she didn't have a family now... "Um... I guess you could say that."

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from them, I'm sure they're worried sick." The woman spoke with a slightly authoritative manner that brought a smile to the young Turk's lips.

"They don't know I'm here, actually. It was going to be a sort of surprise. We haven't seen one another in... years," Rayne spoke softly, still in awe. Her heart was slightly aflutter, despite the buzzing of questions in her mind. Here was the lady who brought her into the world, in the flesh, close enough for her to reach out and touch...

The woman seemed thoughtful for a moment, before heading toward her making a shooing motion with her hands. "Well go to, go to! Family may always be there, but that doesn't mean its right to take advantage of that!"

"That's a little bit easier said than done, ma'am. My situation is a little more _complicated_."

"Nonsense!" Ms. Xionysis argued adamantly. "I look at you and I see a capable and polite young lady, and judging by your eyes, you look like you just may have been on of those SOLDIER folk. If you're worried about that, then you're foolish! They'll love you just as you are dear, anyone who would do different is nothing to fret over."

"Do you really... think so? Do you honestly believe a shared bloodline is enough to do all that?"

She smiled sadly and touched Rayne's cheek with her palm, a jolt being sent through the younger of the two. If the elder felt it, she showed no signs as she only smiled reassuringly. "I know so," she began, looking into the girl's eyes and Rayne couldn't help but to wonder if that slight glow in her eyes was from the JENOVA sells injected into her womb while she carried her. Suddenly the woman turned, heading back into the kitchen as she began putting her groceries. "After all, look at me! I'm an old woman, my wisdom should be infinite as you youngin's seem to think."

The two shared a laugh that all too soon vanished into a silence. It was comfortable though, no feelings of awkwardness in Rayne as she shifted her feet out of lack to do than nervousness. If the picture hadn't been proof enough, the jolt she felt when the woman had cupped her cheek made her feel all she needed to know.

Perhaps words weren't needed, not to drag on and make for what could possibly be a strange meeting. She'd come and found out what she needed to, spoken with the woman, and even connected with her on some level. With the way she spoke, it was as if she held family in the highest regard... and Rayne pondered on the possibility of her regretting ever giving her up. Was there really a need to drag that up, especially when she had seemed to find some solace in her life now.

Turning, she began to leave, though her hand no more than reached the doorknob and she heard her mother call to her. "Leaving?"

"Um... yeah. I think I better be getting on my wa--"

The woman embraced her tightly, taking her off guard so much that she stood there blinking in confusion for a moment before returning the hug. She dwarfed her elder quite a bit, but it didn't keep her from hugging her the best she could before the elderly woman backed away with a teary smile. "You give that to your mother, let her know that she did right by you."

Rayne had to swallow her own tears before she was able to choke back a reply. "I... will. Thank you, m-... just... thanks." She turned, heading out the door before closing it softly behind her with a quiet click of the latch.

Sephyria stood there stationary for a moment, a tear falling down her cheek before whispering, "You're welcome, Rayne."

- - - - -

"You are horrible at answering your phone, ya know?"

The pointy-eared Turk didn't look up at the familiar voice as she sat on the couch in the abandoned Commons, looking out at the darkness that had enveloped Edge, yellow lights dotting the skyline. He slid onto the couch next to her, stretching his arms long the back of it as he propped his legs up on the see-through glass coffee table.

"Not talking to me still?"

No reply.

"You know, I would like to get a message through to the female populace, if you could take this down. We males can't fix what we screwed up unless you tell us what we did wrong."

"Sorry... its not you. I've had a lot on my mind," Rayne spoke softly, tearing her eyes away from the glass to look at him. "I've just had to think some things over."

"In the Research Department..."

She sighed, nodding slowly. "Partially... I needed to find my mother. Which I did, and while I didn't tell her who I was, I was just content with knowing that I came from a human and she had regrets about giving me away." Ignoring the fact that she still had her shoes on, she pulled her legs up onto the couch and hugged them. "It wouldn't have been fair to barge into her life like that... so I just left."

Reno had nothing to say to that. Emotions were never his strong suit. He knew the basic things: love, hate, anger, hunger, happy, sad... but complex mixed feelings that came from strange situations, those were more the department of someone like... well... any woman, which he certainly was not. Instead, he lent her an attentive ear, the best—if not only—thing he could do for her at the moment.

It was impossible to tell how long they remained there in silence, the night dragging on to the point where they no longer heard the ever present footsteps of colleagues and executives outside the door, but the gentle hum of the air conditioner overhead. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you to take me. And that, I haven't been answering your messages. I wasn't... upset with you but..."

"But..."

Rayne chewed the inside of her lip, searching for the words to say. "You make things complicated for me."

"Funny, and I've always been told I'm a simple man."

She rolled her eyes, turning fully on the couch so that she lay her cheek against the back to look at him. "Seriously, Reno. I-" And then she froze, there was little for her to say, she wasn't sure exactly why he made things complicated for her. Rather... she thought she knew, but she was unsure if that be the reason or it be something else. "I cannot think clearly when I'm around you, and I'm having trouble figuring out why that is."

He seemed to ponder this for a moment before answering. "Axel."

_That's exactly what it is. _"What's he got to do with this?"

"Well..." Reno began, turning so that he also faced her. "You obviously cared for the guy, and you've said that I remind you of him. So, he's dead I'm here. Simple."

_Well... you're partially right. _"I came to terms with Axel's death a long time ago."

"It wasn't your mourning that I was talking about."

She quirked her head to the side. "Then what is it?"

Reno closed the distance between them, letting his lips brush hers almost apprehensively at first before pressing his thin ones against her soft full ones fully. He brought a hand up to her cheek as he kissed her gently, her hand coming up to rest just on top of his before, all too soon, it ended and she found herself staring breathlessly into his grey-blue eyes.

_And yet again you remind me of him, always knowing just what's on my mind. _

Reno didn't say anything, and neither did she. They didn't have to, for in that small kiss their bounds of friendship had been breached into something their past couple months had nurtured, love. A small kindling flame had sparked between the pair, igniting with the touch of their lips.

If home was where the heart was, then perhaps Rayne had found hers.

It was right here, in this moment.

**((A/N: And that is it for Thrice-Blessed. :) I hope you enjoy, as the plans and first chapter to the sequel is already in draft mode and should be up within the next few days. Don't worry... Rayne and Reno aren't going anywhere. ))**


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